Late Glacial Rapid Climate Change and Human Response in the Western Mediterranean Gerd-Christian Weniger∗1,2, Mar´ıaDe Andr´es-Herreroy , Viviane Bolinz , Martin Kehlx , Taylor Otto{ , Alessandro Pot`ık , and Yvonne Tafelmaier∗∗ 1Neanderthal Museum { Talstrasse 300 40822 Mettmann, Allemagne 2Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne { Weyertal 125 50931 Cologne, Allemagne R´esum´e In the Western Mediterranean there is a long research history of Palaeolithic archaeology that is accompanied by a rich palaeoclimate record from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea as well as terrestrial geo-archives. In addition, the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco are known for their high bioclimatic diversity ranging from hyperoceanic temperate bioclimates in the Cantabrian Mountains to the hyperdesertic tropical climate at the northern fringe of the Sahara. This combination of archaeological and paleoclimate data makes the Western Mediterranean an ideal test case for the study of hunter-gatherer behavior in relation to environmental changes. In this paper, we evaluate available archaeological and geochronological data of more than 300 Solutrean and Magdalenian as well as Iberomaurusian occupations in order to charac- terize the extent and causes of occupation changes in the Western Mediterranean of Last Glacial hunter-gatherer groups. Three main geographical areas (Northern Iberia, Southern Iberia, and Morocco), where human populations reacted differently on palaeoenvironmental changes, could be differentiated. We test different methods for a multi-proxy analysis as site numbers and site formation, 14C data and their summed calibrated date probability distribution (SCDPDs) as well as site distribution combined with Nearest Neighbour Analysis (NNA), Ripley's K analyses and Kernel Density Estimates (KDE). For the LGM, displacement of populations in the Western Mediterranean due to environmen- tal change is evident as well as strong regional differences. A significant increase of human presence in Southern Iberia during the Solutrean is recorded that might be interpreted as population boom. At the same time only a sparse repopulation is visible in Morocco after a gap of human occupation for several thousand years. After the LGM strong dry spells during Heinrich 1 Stadial probably cause a breakdown of human population in Southern Iberia that remains unstable after HS1 while in Morocco an increase of site numbers becomes apparent. ∗Intervenant yAuteur correspondant: [email protected] zAuteur correspondant: [email protected] xAuteur correspondant: [email protected] {Auteur correspondant: [email protected] kAuteur correspondant: [email protected] ∗∗Auteur correspondant: [email protected] sciencesconf.org:uispp2018:179228 Population discontinuities played an important role in human presence and cultural change in the Western Mediterranean. Especially Southern Iberia and Morocco seem to have been high risk environments in special moments for hunter-gatherers. Our data suggest that groups of the Late Iberomaurusian found better answers to cope with climate stress than Magdalenian groups from Southern Iberia. Mots-Cl´es: Solutrean, Magdalenian, Iberomaurusian, Settlement pattern, Population turnover, Land use.